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Timeless timepieces

LONDON – As I walk around the streets of the city, I can’t help but notice the plethora of public clocks. Sometimes I forget that Britain has been the epicentre of global timekeeping since 1660 when King Charles II founded the Royal Society and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. To this day it remains an issue of national interest as my very British friend Teri, of Kent reminded me.

“Punctuality is very important to me. I hate being late for things and would much rather be early and hang around than be late,” she says.

“I think there are many different attitudes towards timekeeping,” she adds. “My dad for example is almost always late so much so that we lie to him about what time things start by about half an hour! But then my mum is always on time.

“In London, with the erraticism of the tube and the frequency of delays I think people are more understanding if someone is late,” she concludes. I couldn’t agee more.

So, it’s perhaps not so odd that these keepers of global time like to be reminded of their responsiblity to us all by the frequent display of public clocks. Take a look at some amazing ones that you can see scattered around London on a day out.

This one is from Smithfield’s Market

I found this one just around the corner from Bow Lane.

This one is on Cheapside.

These next two clocks were just down the road from me.

But it was not till I got to Fleet Street, that I saw a host of beauties. In fact, it seemed that every few metres or so there was a new public clock.